Goodbye, Kinja. It's been fun

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
11/13/2020 at 09:52 • Filed to: None

Although I’d established myself in t he commentariat, m y first post here was the day after I bought my 2014 WRX back in 2014. I think the best way for me to say goodbye to Oppo on Ki nja is to look back on my adventures with my WRX and tell you what I think about it now.

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This thing is the fastest car I’ve ever owned. Many people have waxed poetic about the WRX and STi, so I won’t try to best them . My writing is more technical and my brain isn’t wired for painting pretty pictures with words. I know my limitations. It’s fast, it’s fun, and it puts a stupid grin on my face every time I drive it.

Within the first year of ownership, I had discovered how versatile a WRX wagon could be. From hauling kids, to bikes, to camping gear, and even hauling ass, it can do it all.

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In the second year, I had my first near-miss and shared the story here.

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I didn’t realize that this was foreshadowing of bad things to come. Before the end of my second year of ownership, the WRX took a hit.

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After nearly $12k in repairs, the WRX was back on the road. Everything seemed to be back to normal, but there were a few rattles here and there . The ones that were clearly from the wreck (hatch!), I had them track down and fix. I’m not sure if the others were from the wreck, the repairs, or if they should be chocked up to a Subaru being a Subaru.

The wreck was a bad way to start the year. Subaru decided to finish it with a bang. They overfilled the oil during an oil change and all hell broke loose inside that flat four.

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Not willing to admit their mistake, t he dealership convinced Subaru to cover the rebuild under warranty. After a return trip to the dealer for post-rebuild turbo issues and a nother 1,000 mile break-in period, the little WRX was running fine.

But my WRX started losing its luster.

My perspective really started shifting after I started renting cars. LOTS of cars. My work took me to Houston every week, so I had the luxury of driving a whole variety of cars, from muscle cars to full size trucks . It was during this phase that I learned something about myself. I’m starting to value comfort and quiet over speed and handling. The WRX is just loud, especially at freeway speed. It’s hard to have a conversation in the car when we’re taking a trip, and forget about making a call. I know I could tear out the interior and add some dynamat, but I’m not sure it’s worth the effort. The paint is thin and prone to chipping, so it has a lot of little paint chips in need of touchup. To top it all off, the power steering sprang a leak. Sure, it’s not much, but all-together, it’s enough to make me rethink what I want in a car.

So, I guess it’s fitting that the end of Oppo on Kinja coincides with what might be the end of my time with my WRX. It’s been a fun ride, but it’s probably time to move on.

Thanks for reading my ramblings, friends. See you on t he Hyphen .

DISCUSSION (2)

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > TheRealBicycleBuck
11/13/2020 at 09:56

See you soon!

vondon302 > TheRealBicycleBuck
11/13/2020 at 10:26

This place has made me want a WRX.

Even after reading this.

Cheers cya on the other side.